Sam,
They are still owned by Xanterra. I saw posts from a fre years back that they had stopped steam, but I guess they returned it on a limited basis for special events. In the summer months they run Steam Saturdays one day out of the month, usually with a steam engine and a helper diesel depending on the number of cars all the way to the canyon and back. The pumpkin run was a short 5 mile run up the line. Backwards up and forwards home. They stop for 45 minutes and allow the kids to pick their pumpkin. The last weekend they ran #29 for 3 trips each day. Plus an extra viewing as the staged the train. One other steam only was a man v/s machine where #29 raced bicyclists from the canyon. That is usually held in September. Link to video of that below.Their website site says it was convered to vegetable oil. It does have a unique smell when it passes. On the 2016 Man V/S machine run it was my first time trying to capture it with a drone. At the crossing about 5 miles from Williams. (Pronghorn Ranch Road if any other photogaphers are out there) I saw two people that shot it the prior year. They said he usually moves pretty slow through the area. We saw the train coming in the distance and one of them yelled he was booking. The video below is of that event. I review of the logs said I was flying backwards around 52mph to stay in front of #29 while filiming. It was all over before you realize it.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wqmcx0Imu-o
FlyGary I remember reading my Grandfather's copies of Trains back in the 70s and once had an opportunity to ride the old Reader Railroad out of Arkansas. From time to time still pick up a copy on the newstand because the rails were always an interest to me.Giving back to the community, here is a link to recent video shoot I did with the Grand Canyon Railroad and thier annual Pumpkin Patch Run with ALCO #29. The shoot was done over two days with a camera mounted on a drone. (All with prior permission of GCRR)Enjoy and comments welcomed.https://youtu.be/dmMJXSCspfc
I remember reading my Grandfather's copies of Trains back in the 70s and once had an opportunity to ride the old Reader Railroad out of Arkansas. From time to time still pick up a copy on the newstand because the rails were always an interest to me.Giving back to the community, here is a link to recent video shoot I did with the Grand Canyon Railroad and thier annual Pumpkin Patch Run with ALCO #29. The shoot was done over two days with a camera mounted on a drone. (All with prior permission of GCRR)Enjoy and comments welcomed.https://youtu.be/dmMJXSCspfc
Thanks for posting the video ! One of the things seemed to pop out was the lack of smoke made by Alco#29. I think i had read some where that the their steam engines on the Grand Canyon had been modified and as part of their Owning Companues "Green Plans" they burned vegetable oils ?
And in about 2008, I think that the Xanterra Corp had shut down their steam operations and laid off all the emploees of their steam operations branch?
Has the railroad changed ownership?
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